Furniture Designer Rosanne Somerson

Clockwise from top left: Bench 3 (2023), black walnut, Baltic birch plywood, upholstery foam, custom-printed woven cotton fabric; Bench 1 (2023), imbuia, Baltic birch plywood, upholstery foam, custom-printed woven cotton fabric; Bench 2 (2023), whitened sycamore, Baltic birch plywood, upholstery foam, custom-printed woven cotton fabric. All three 20.5″H x 47″W x 21″D.

Artist Rosanne Somerson. Portrait by Jo Sittenfeld.

Mail House (2023), Baltic birch plywood, beech, beech veneer, printed veneer, imbuia, brass, 51.75″H x 16.25″W x 12″D.

Sideboard (2023), Macassar ebony, pearwood, printed leather, 34″H x 63.25″W x 17″D. Side Table 1 (2023).

Copper Leaves Table (2023), Baltic birch plywood, copper, aluminum, printed and plain veneer, imbuia, 19″H x 48″W x 30″D.

Water Ribbon Table (2019), cherry, aluminum, digitally printed maple, 36″H x 48″W x 30″D.

Side Table 1 (2023), Baltic birch plywood, leather, glass, pearwood, beech veneer, printed pearwood veneer, 16.75″H x 26.75″W x 26.5″D

Fluid/Solid was the name of award-winning studio furniture designer Rosanne Somerson’s solo show at Boston’s Gallery NAGA a few years ago. It references her furniture’s artful blend of opposites and contrasts, artistic expression and thoughtful functionality. It also offers an intriguing peek into her creative process.

From her home in Westport, Massachusetts, she explains, “I want my work to serve both utilitarian and emotional needs.” For example, her Baltic birch plywood Mail House is a mailbox that is both functional and fun. “I like that it takes a task that may be mundane and adds a layer of celebration to it,” she says.

Somerson is also known for creating furniture that bridges the past and the present. She employs traditional woodworking techniques and often chooses ultra-modern materials, such as digitally printed veneers and LED electronics. Her Water Ribbon Table combines a classic cherry-wood top with an aluminum support that is sandwiched between digitally printed maple veneers, while Copper Leaves Table is constructed from birch, copper, aluminum, and both printed and plain veneers.   

Somerson, who has maintained her own studio practice since 1979 (currently located in Fall River, Massachusetts), served as a faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design and then as the school’s president from 2015 to 2021. “I’ve been blessed to have a career as an artist and a designer, and I wanted to help create the conditions for the next generation of people to flourish the way I did,” says Somerson. “I wanted to give back rather than just thinking about my own insular life.”

Retired from academia, Somerson now consults while she continues to design and make furniture, taking on the occasional commission. When asked where she gets the inspiration for her ever-evolving designs, she pauses for a beat, smiles, and explains, “I don’t ever look at other furniture.

That’s a surefire way to create something derivative. My real inspiration is the outdoors, the natural landscape. This is what inspires me to design furniture that helps people see the familiar differently.”

Editor’s Note: Rosanne Somerson is represented by Gallery NAGA, Boston, gallerynaga.com.